Dark Chocolate Popcorn with Sea Salt

Give your Valentine the ultimate heart-healthy treat!

By: Jodie Shield, RDN

Valentine’s Day and chocolate go hand in hand or should I say mouth? Flowers may be low-cal, but go ahead and indulge on this sweet treat – it’s good for your heart.  The whole-grain goodness of popcorn and countless health benefits of eating dark chocolate make Dark Chocolate Popcorn with Sea Salt the ultimate gift of love.  My inspiration for this recipe came from the Chicago Tribune’s Salted Dark Chocolate Popcorn recipe.  But their recipe called for the old-fashioned method of corn popping – on the stove.  So, I retested the recipe using a “light” version of microwave popcorn and eliminating the oil.  (Had some Orville Reddenbacker’s light popping corn on hand, but really any microwave popcorn will do.)  The key is to make sure you have 8 cups of popped corn. If you add sea salt, buy the coarse grain;  it compliments the dark chocolate perfectly as the rich flavors marry together and melt in your mouth.  My Heart-Healthy Chocolate Brownies are also divine! Have a happy Valentine’s Day!

Dark Chocolate Popcorn with Sea Salt

8 Servings

Prep Time = 5 minutes

Cooking Time = 15 minutes

Cooling Time = 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 (2.7-ounce) bag light microwave popcorn (yield 8 cups popped corn)
• 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (60-percent cocoa)
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt, divided

Directions:

1. Cook popcorn in microwave according to package instructions.  Pour popcorn into large (4-quart) bowl, removing any unpopped kernels.
2. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
3. Place chocolate and ½ teaspoon salt in microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave in 30-second increments until chocolate is very soft and becomes completely liquid when stirred gently.
4. Immediately pour chocolate over popcorn and stir to coat as thoroughly as possible. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ teaspoon salt.
5. Spread popcorn onto baking sheet.  Let sit at room temperature until chocolate has hardened about 1 hour.

Nutritional Information per Serving (1 cup popped corn): 106 calories, 1.5 grams protein, 13 grams carbohydrate, 5.5 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 0.5 milligrams cholesterol, 2 grams fiber, 182 milligrams sodium

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